Ch2 - Circumstantial
by andree campbell
Summary: Andy just kissed Sharon in the middle of a stake-out to keep from blowing their cover. Sharon's reaction was not what Andy had hoped for. Shandy-esque.


**Chapter two:**

Sharon Raydor had to stay focused on the stake out. She had ordered Andy Flynn out of the car not only to keep up the "realtor ruse" but because she also needed a moment alone to collect her thoughts and a few seconds to rightfully freak out, panic, sputter in private.

She glanced into the rearview mirror and saw her face _looked_ normal despite hiding the panic sensations roiling beneath her calm surface. _ What just happened?_ Sharon thought to herself. What if it had been another direct report who'd taken that action with her? Would she have felt so shocked If it had been Provenza? No, but then _he_ wouldn't have actually kissed her. He'd have faked it. The mere thought would never _even _have crossed Sanchez' mind. Or any of the others for that matter. But Andy, he was sharp enough to improvise on the fly. _Was that all it was? Just a quick-thinking response? Or_, ….Sharon shook her head, "Later. I will deal with this later!" She told herself.

When Andy returned to the car he found it was chiller inside the car than out. Sharon was calm and reserved despite every attempt to engage her in conversation. Her one-word answers were getting on his nerves. Was his kiss that bad? Flynn had had enough.

"Look Sharon, I swear I reacted in the moment to preserve the stake-out. Like I said before, Deggs was trying to get a look inside the car….he would have seen your gun or holster if I hadn't covered you like I did." Andy implored.

Sharon was listening and knew Flynn made sense. "It's fine, Andy. Just drop it."

She hit the speaker button on her cellphone and redialed Provenza. "I need you to wander over here - quickly - and panhandle us so we have an excuse to leave," Sharon said carefully.

"Is the stake out over?" Provenza sounded annoyed. "Was Janson sighted? If he's in …"

"Listen, Andy and I can't stay where we are. The stake-out is not over. The squad is fine but we can't stay here much longer," Sharon interrupted the lieutenant.

Andy sighed with exasperation. Sharon turned her head in Andy's direction and covered her phone to prevent Provenza from hearing her. "We can't sit here for hours 'arguing' with each other waiting for some real estate agent to show up," she snapped. Andy realized she was right, at least the perps had no idea they were cops. That alone preserved the stake-out for now. He kept his eyes on the window but his peripheral vision was on Sharon.

Sharon returned to her call with Provenza.

"Lt. Provenza, I just need you to take our place, Lt. Flynn and I bought a little more time but we can't stay here much longer. And Lt. Provenza, hurry up."

She turned off the speaker and sat there quietly. Flynn leaned forward to get a better look at her expression causing her to flinch — her hand shot out at him, forefinger pointing up in a warning.

"Don't move!" She growled.

Flynn cocked his head at her sarcastically. She squinted at him to emphasize her words. Flynn crossed his arms. "What? I wasn't…just forget it. He sounded annoyed…and hurt. The two sat there in silence.

Andy was a little thrown by Sharon's reaction. Why was she so…distant? She thought he was going to do it again? She obviously didn't want him to, Andy realized.

Provenza was doing a decent job hobbling about like a drunken bum as he approached the car from the front. He could see what looked like a tense situation between the Captain and his best friend. "Oh shit," Provenza said under his breath, "Andy, what did you do this time?"

Provenza was not moving fast enough for Sharon's liking. In reality she was embarrassed by her immediate reaction and couldn't help shutting down until she had the time to work through the implications and ramifications of being kissed by a subordinate. After all, this had happened _on the job_. IA would never buy Andy's rationale, not after all the time the two had spent together outside the office. What she needed was space— immediately — and time alone to process what she would have to do next.

Andy suddenly felt a sharp pinch and realized his shoulders were clenched. He forced himself to breathe a little deeper and relax. He kept his eyes on his buddy Provenza and could see the old man's scowling face, head shaking disapprovingly at him as he tottered toward the Lexus. Andy's eyes met Provenza's and judging by the tight lipped expression on Andy's face, Provenza knew Andy was rather uncomfortable. He picked up the pace.

He tapped his ear piece and spoke Andy's name. The call went through immediately and Andy could feel his phone vibrate. He knew it was Provenza and answered it sharply. "Not now, Provenza, not now." He hung up before Provenza could say a word. Sharon ignored Andy.

Provenza approached the car and made a show of cleaning the windshield with his sleeve on Andy's side of the car. Andy barely shook his head to ward off any conversation. Provenza then shuffled over to the Captain's side of the car and fiddled with her windshield wipers and rubbed at the windshield. The Captain slid the window down.

"We're leaving. Cover the entrance, Lieutenant," the captain said firmly as Provenza nodded and shuffled off. Sharon turned on the headlights and slowly eased into street taking care to make as little noise as possible. "Buckle up, Lieutenant…Andy," Sharon said without looking at him.

Andy did as he was told. _At least she called me Andy!_

"Those idiots can't be alone together for five minutes…" Provenza said to himself. He could see Sykes sitting in the passenger side of Sanchez' sedan parked just off the intersection and parallel to the apartment building. Sanchez was sipping coffee and watched Provenza approaching with a concerned look on his face.

"You see Janson yet?" Sanchez asked Provenza through his window.

"No, you? What about you, Sykes? Anything?" Provenza growled.

"Nope, just Deggs and the dog," Sykes replied before opening the lid of a small styrofoam cup with a teabag tag fluttering off the side."

"We're switching places," Provenza told Sanchez. "I'll cover this side and you two drive past the apartment and grab a new spot out front."

"The Captain and Flynn have that cov…" Sykes began.

"They left," Provenza interrupted.

"What? Did they blow their cover?" Sykes asked innocently.

"_Some_thing blew up." Provenza mumbled. "Idiots."

Sanchez knew better than to ask too many questions when Provenza was irritated. Nodding in compliance, Sanchez put the car in gear and eased away. The pair drove up the block and turned left onto the street in front of Janson's hideout. Provenza noticed an empty bench not five feet away from the empty parking spot. _My lucky day _he thought sarcastically.

Sanchez's sedan glided quietly down the block as Sykes scanned the apartment windows. Lights were on but most of the windows were uncovered. No sign of anyone moving about inside any apartment. Sykes felt her cellphone vibrate. It was the Captain.

"Detective, I need you and Sanchez to cover the front door. Provenza can cover the side entrance where you are now. Be sure you go further down the street …just keep an eye on the entrance and make sure the suspects can't see you from the front windows."

"Captain, we're already in place," Sykes answered efficiently. "Lieutenant Provenza said you were called away."

"Not exactly," Sharon hedged. "Sounds like all bases are covered. Please report immediately if anything changes - if Janson exits the building — or any other gang members try to enter the place, got it, Sykes."

"Yes, Captain." Sykes hung up and relayed the instructions to Sanchez.

"Everything okay?" Sanchez asked her.

"Fine. Everything is fine," Sykes said quickly. Something was bothering the captain. Normally she was firm with Sykes but this time, the captain sounded torqued. Sykes swallowed hard.

—-

Sharon hung up and stared straight ahead. "Where are we going?" Andy asked quietly. Sharon didn't have an answer just yet as she slowed down for a red light. They sat silently for what felt like an eternity. Sharon had to get away from Andy, take him back to his car and let him finish out the stake-out or go home. _Why _did Andy kissed her, why didn't he just kiss her on the cheek instead like before? She felt more than a little confused and wasn't sure how she was suppose to respond. She really needed time alone, time to pace, time to think and consider.

Once the light turned green, Sharon drove carefully toward her office. Andy just waited for her to say something. His own thoughts were colliding. On one hand, he had acted without _really_ thinking, acting on instinct and yeah, maybe, that instinct was provoked by both pressure and opportunity.

On the other hand, had it been anyone from the squad — other than Sharon — in the driver's seat, well there's no way Andy would have ever have kissed a fellow detective to keep from blowing his cover. In his heart, Andy knew that while kissing Sharon preserved their cover story he couldn't help but feel guilty. It was not how he had imagined their first kiss. Sharon deserved to be properly courted, especially after 25 years of a shitty marriage to that fat bastard Jack who seem to only delight in harassing her and purposely mispronouncing her name to irritate her.

What Sharon _didn__'__t_ deserve was any pretense for good or bad reasons. Of course Sharon would react like this. Guarded was the only way to survive and succeed over the years in Internal Affairs. Andy knew if there was one thing Sharon Raydor prized, it was total honesty. Andy could see how his actions looked opportunistic. Stealing a kiss. On. The. Job. Of course that would be considered a huge mistake in her book. And Sharon Raydor's rulebook was the only real rulebook that mattered.

Andy appeared to watch the buildings and empty lots sail by as he looked out the passenger's window. In reality, Andy had surreptitiously pulled the toggle switch on his armrest and maneuvered his side mirror aiming it fully at the driver. Andy watched Sharon's face carefully - she remained stone-faced like a champion poker player. His stomach sank. Drawing a deep breath, he turned toward her.

"Sharon, I truly apologize for my actions back there. I want you to know I didn't mean to upset you. I just reacted in the moment." Andy said sincerely while studying her face for a reaction via the side mirror.

She blinked quickly as she lifted her chin and glanced at the car's roof. He could tell she was upset but not a tear had fallen. It wasn't her nature to break down in front of anyone. Her lips pinched together but she never looked away from the road. He couldn't tell if she was still angry or just hurt.

"Andy, I accept your apology."

Andy waited. Was she going to say anything else?

"Sharon?" He prodded.

"Andy."

"Are you _mad _at me?"

"No." Sharon sounded calm, not cold but not warm either.

"You _sure_?" Andy was staring at her. She could feel his attentive gaze on her face. She fought to remain expressionless. Her heart was pounding.

"I'm _sure_."

"Well, _something__'__s_ definitely not right!" Andy pushed.

"I have a lot on my mind right now," Sharon said quietly. She _really_ didn't want to talk any further about the kiss until she had time to sort through everything that had happened. Her conflicted feelings ran the gamut of anger to disappointment to fear. Had anyone else seen it happen? If they arrested Deggs, he would surely use it to embarrass her and her department. _What the hell was Andy thinking? _

"Is there anything …" Andy looked appropriately apologetic and earnest

"Not a thing, Andy." Sharon drove past the office building and into the parking garage. "Where are you parked?"

"Third floor."

They rode in silence until she pulled up next to his car, stopping at the trunk rather than pulling into the empty space alongside his car. Andy noticed Sharon never put the car in park — opting rather to keep her foot on the brake — clearly discouraging any chance to sit together and talk.

"Good night, Sharon," Andy said as he stepped out of her car and bent down to look at her. She didn't look back.

"Good night, Andy." Sharon uttered before he shut the car door.

Andy stood there watching her drive away. He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath. Andy sighed deeply and heard his own frustration echo in the empty concrete parking garage "Fuuuucccckk!

He got in his car and pulled out his phone. He hesitated. Andy wanted to call Sharon but knew she would not answer if he did. Instead he punched the favorites button and tapped on Provenza's number.

"What the hell is going on?" Provenza snarled into the phone before Andy could say a word.

"Man, I blew it. I did something _really _stupid."

"Well, d'uh!" Provenza fumed. "What did you do this time, Flynn!" Provenza normally called Andy by his first name unless Provenza was annoyed with him.

Andy hesitated.

"Well come on, just spill it. What. Did. You. Do? The Captain had her Darth Raydor face on. How bad is it?" Provenza prompted.

"I….I…wasn't thinking and I just reacted when Deggs got close to the car…."

"Yeah, yeah. Get to the point, Andy."

"Deggs got close enough that he would have seen Sharon's holster…"

"Damn't Andy. Just tell me what you…" Provenza had lost all patience.

"I kissed her!" Andy confessed.

" .Shit!"

"I know, I know!" Andy sounded really worried.

"Then what happened? What'd she say?"

"She told me to get out of the car…"

"She kicked you _out_? On. A. Stake-out?" Disbelief evident in Provenza's tone.

"No, no, no. She told me to get out and go walk around the house next door."

"What. the. hell?" Provenza was even more confused. "That makes no sense! And what the hell were you thinking? Why on earth did you kiss her, you idiot! You're on the job…_with _the captain! You're lucky she didn't have an aneurysm!"

"You don't understand, Louie. Deggs was checking us out and we had just a few minutes to improvise and throw him off. We…"

"Oh I understand plenty, horn dog!" Provenza growled.

"No, it wasn't like that." Andy protested. He felt a lump in his throat and paused.

"Go on, " Provenza murmured.

"I saw the house across the street was for sale and thought we should play it like we were waiting for a real estate agent to arrive. Explains why we were just sitting there."

"The Captain went for that?"

"Yeah, I mean what else could we do? Drive off? It woulda looked suspicious."

"Agreed." Provenza said grudgingly.

"Yeah, so we pretended to argue really loudly so Deggs could hear us, you know, fighting over how to _flip_ houses…it bought us a little more time but …anyway, we had to do something since they were watching us. We didn't want to blow our cover or the stake-out." Andy sounded a little defensive. Provenza could understand to some degree.

"Okay. Andy. I get it. But why did you kiss the captain?"

"I had to do it. I had to do something to hide her hip holster or Deggs would make us for cops."

Provenza sighed loudly. "Get to it, Andy! I'm growing old here!"

"I leaned over her, turned her chin my way and kissed her until Deggs walked away!"

"Oh. Dear. Lord!" Provenza said more out of habit than admonishment.

"What?" Andy needed comforting and Provenza knew it. He'd known Andy long enough to tell when his partner was deeply shaken.

"What do you want me to say, Andy? That it'll all blow over by tomorrow morning? Cuz we both know it won't."

"I told her why I did it, I even apologized, but man, she just froze me out, barely spoke to me at all."

"So she's mad as hell. Obviously," Provenza stated.

"Well she said she wasn't."

"Trust me, Andy, she's mad." Provenza sighed. "Hey, somebody's coming out of the building. I gotta call Sanchez. Sit tight. I'll call you later. And Andy, DO NOT CALL THE CAPTAIN TONIGHT. It will only make things worse. Give her space." Provenza hung up before Andy could say anything more.

Andy turned the ignition and backed out quickly. He headed to the captain's apartment. He couldn't let this wait. Besides, Provenza had been divorced five times. What did he know about women?

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_**Reviews have been so kind. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this second chapter. Reviews inspire! And that means faster story updates! Thanks for reading!**_

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